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Where No Man Has Gone Before (episode)
Captain Kirk worries when his friend, Gary Mitchell, is transformed by the galaxy's edge into a powerful psionic being, endangering the ship, crew and beyond. Summary Teaser :"Captain's log, Stardate 1312.4. The impossible has happened. From directly ahead, we're picking up a recorded distress signal, the call letters of a vessel which has been missing for over two centuries. Did another Earth ship probe out of the galaxy as we intend to do? What happened to it out there? Is this some warning they've left behind?" In the briefing lounge, Captain James T. Kirk and Vulcan Science Officer Lieutenant Commander Spock are playing three-dimensional chess. Spock warns the Captain that he's about to checkmate him on his next move, but the Captain is preoccupied with awaiting the bridge's update on the unknown distress signal. The Captain notes that Spock plays a very "irritating game of chess", to which Spock responds with "Irritating? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions." Captain Kirk makes a move that surprises Spock, and smiles, to which Spock simply turns to look at him. "Certain you don't know what irritation is?" Kirk says wryly. Spock claims that one of his ancestors made a mistake by marrying a Human, but just before he can finish a call comes over the comm. Lieutenant Lee Kelso informs the Captain that the object is now within tractor beam range, and that it's only about a meter in diameter, too small to be a vessel. Captain Kirk tells him to lock on to it, and the two of them head out. In the transporter room, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott is fine-tuning the transporter, preparing to beam the object aboard. Captain Kirk gives the order, and Scott transports the device into the transporter room. The Captain immediately recognizes it as an old-style ship recorder, one that would be ejected in the event of an emergency. Spock agrees, but states that, based on the level of damage the object seems to have sustained, something must have destroyed the ship. Scotty tries to feed the tapes into the computer, when the marker begins transmitting a signal. Captain Kirk orders red alert, and the crew go to their stations. Act One Throughout the ship, the crew is reporting to their emergency stations. Kirk and Spock enter a turbolift, and Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell jumps in as the doors are closing. Kirk and Mitchell joke about Kelso, and Spock's chess skills, showing that they have a deep friendship even in times of red alert. On the bridge, Mitchell takes his station, as Spock scans for the message. As they approach the edge of the galaxy, Kirk orders all stop. Captain Kirk announces ship-wide that what they picked up was a marker launched from the [[SS Valiant|SS Valiant]] over 200 years ago. Department heads report to the bridge as ordered, and Captain Kirk is given introductions. Smith, whom he mistakes as Jones, is his new yeoman. Astro-Sciences physicist Sulu reports ready, Engineering Officer Scott reports ready as always, and Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mark Piper introduces the new psychiatrist aboard, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who came aboard to study the long-term effects of space travel on the crew back at the Aldebaran colony. Spock points out he's been able to get a signal from the recorder, as Mitchell tries to flirt with Dr. Dehner, who rebuffs him only to overhear him call her a "walking freezer unit". Spock interpolates the Valiant's message, that they'd encountered a magnetic storm and pulled out of the galaxy, and that the crew accessed computer records on "ESP" in Humans. The Captain asks Dr. Dehner her opinion, and she mistakes it for him asking if she has ESP. She reports that there are some Humans who can see the future, but it is never very powerful. Spock goes on to explain that several crewman had died aboard the Valiant, which had suffered severe damage. The Valiant crew continued researching ESP, until it seems the Captain ordered a self-destruct. Captain Kirk decides to go ahead anyway and engages warp factor 1. The crew react with mixed emotions as the Enterprise heads out of the galaxy. The ship encounters a strange field, and Spock orders a full array of scans. Yeoman Smith and Mitchell hold hands to comfort each other as the ship enters the field. Flashes of light fill the bridge, and the whole ship. A console explodes on the bridge as fires start around the ship. Both Dr. Denher and Mitchell are directly affected by the strange field, falling to the ground after seemingly being shocked. Main power is out, and nine crewman are dead. Captain Kirk tends to Mitchell only to find that his eyes are glowing an eerie silver. Act Two :"Captain's log, stardate 1312.9. Ship's condition – heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out. The ship's space-warp ability – gone. Earth bases, which were only days away are now years in the distance. Our overriding question now is – what destroyed the ''Valiant? They lived through the barrier, just as we have. What happened to them after that?"'' Act Three :"Captain's log, stardate 1313.1. We're now approaching Delta Vega. Course set for a standard orbit. This planet, completely uninhabited, is slightly smaller then Earth, desolate, but rich in crystal and minerals. Kelso's task – transport down with a repair party, try to regenerate the main engines, save the ship. Our task – transport down a man I've known for 15 years, and if we're successful, maroon him there." As Mitchell's extraordinary psionic powers continue to evolve, he feels less and less connected to the Human race. Spock fears he might become dangerous to not only the ship, but to the entire galaxy. He also thinks the same fate destroyed the Valiant, and Mitchell confirms this. Having become a self-proclaimed god, and has no other interest in Humans other than ruling over them. Spock suggests killing him before it is too late, but instead Kirk decides to exile his friend to an uninhabited planet. Act Four :"Captain's log, stardate 1313.3. Note commendations on Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering staff. In orbit above us, the engines of the ''Enterprise are almost fully regenerated. Balance of the landing party is being transported back up. Mitchell, whatever he's become, keeps changing, growing stronger by the minute."'' On the planet surface, Mitchell kills his guard and kidnaps Dr. Dehner. Kirk goes after him, but Mitchell attempts to kill his friend using his powers. Dehner, for the first time realizing Mitchell is inhuman and dangerous, helps Kirk against him. Mitchell fatally injures Dehner without remorse. Even though Mitchell regains his god-like power after a battle with Dehner, Kirk manages to kill his former friend by triggering a rockslide with his phaser rifle, thus burying him in the grave Mitchell had intended for Kirk himself. :"Captain's log, stardate 1313.8. Add to official losses, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Be it noted she gave her life in performance of her duty. Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell. Same notation." Back on the ship, Spock for the first time admits to Kirk he has emotions similar to Humans. Memorable Quotes "You should have killed me while you could, James... command and compassion are a fool's mixture." : - Mitchell "Will you try for one minute to feel? At least ''act like you've got a heart?" : - '''Kirk' to Spock, on marooning or killing Mitchell "You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!" : - Mitchell "Dr. Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous – what makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?" "Because she feels – I don't. All I know is logic. In my opinion, we'll be lucky to repair the ship and get away in time." : - Kirk and Spock "Did you hear him joke about compassion? (shouting into the air) Above all else, a god needs compassion! ''Mitchell!" "''What do you know about gods?" "Then let's talk about humans... about our frailties. As powerful as Mitchell gets, he'll still have all that inside him... You were a psychiatrist, once; you know the ugly, savage things we all keep buried inside of us, that none of us dare expose -- but ''he'll dare! Who's to stop him? He doesn't need to care... Be a psychiatrist for one minute longer; what do you see happening to him? What's your prognosis, doctor?" : - '''Kirk' and Elizabeth Dehner "Do you like what you see? Absolute power corrupting absolutely?" : - Kirk, to Dehner regarding Mitchell's power "Hey, man, I remember you back at the Academy... a stack of books with legs! The first thing I heard from an upperclassman was, 'Watch out for Lt. Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink'." : - Mitchell, reminiscing about Kirk "My love has wings Slender, feathered things With grace in upswept curve and tapered tip." : - Tarbolde, "Nightingale Woman" 1996 Background Information * TNG adopted a gender-neutral and species-neutral version of this episode's title, in the installment "Where No One Has Gone Before". * There is a different, pre-broadcast cut of this episode in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. This unique cut includes a few brief scenes trimmed from the aired cut of the episode, different opening titles, and a unique closing theme. The alternate closing theme can be heard on the GNP Crescendo CD "Star Trek: Original Series (Vol.1) The Cage / Where No Man Has Gone Before". The pre-broadcast cut is commercially available only in bootleg form, although it has been screened at numerous conventions. Paul Carr was credited as "Navigator" in the end credits of the original cut. The version on the first season box set may contain the alternate ending theme, but does have the changed credits. * This was the second Star Trek pilot, but not the first episode to actually air. It was the first appearance for Trek mainstays Kirk, Sulu, Scott, and Leslie. The only held over character from the unaired pilot "The Cage" was Spock, whose eyebrow style would be toned down in later episodes. Other regulars McCoy and Uhura would not appear until the next episode. * After NBC saw this episode, they were pleased with the results and decided that Star Trek be a weekly television series. * William Shatner was actually the third to be considered for the role of James T. Kirk. Jack Lord and Lloyd Bridges were each offered the role first. *The communications officer behind Kirk at the end of this episode appears to have his head down on his console, sleeping. * The gravestone Mitchell creates for Kirk says "James R. Kirk." It describes him as having been born on stardate 1277.1, but this could have been Mitchell's morbid sense of humor. Kirk may have assumed command of the Enterprise on this stardate. * Their crew files show that Mitchell and Dehner were born in cities called "Delman" and "Eldman." It is possible the property master never thought TV resolution would make these readable. * The mountainous backdrop painting from "The Cage" is used again in this, the second pilot. * It is possible that the "little blonde lab technician" Mitchell mentioned may be Dr. Carol Marcus or Dr. Janet Wallace. * It is also possible that the reference by Mitchell about an "upperclassman" from Starfleet Academy who made an unflattering comment about Kirk could be Finnegan. * The matte painting of the lithium cracking station was created by matte artist Albert Whitlock for this episode. A still exists showing the entire landing party in the doorway within the matte, but only the shot of Kirk and Dehner ended up being used. The matte painting would soon be altered and reused in "Dagger of the Mind". * A clever bit of film trickery enabled Kirk, Spock and Mitchell's elevator ride to look like an actual ride from one deck to another, without relying on editing. When Mitchell jumps in, there was a gray wall outside the door that hid the bridge set. When the doors closed, the wall was removed by the stage crew, and then seconds later, voila! We're "magically" on the bridge. :After this scene, keep an eye on the turbolift in the background. It sports "double doors" just like modern elevators - the inner one is gray and the outer is red. This feature would survive into "The Corbomite Maneuver" and at least until "Tomorrow is Yesterday," but then was phased out. * When Kirk, Spock and Mitchell emerge from the turbolift, you can see the main view screen in its "off" setting - a kind of "psychedelic" visual effect that was never used again (and must surely have been disorienting to anyone looking at it for extended periods of time). *Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called "foto-novels," which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The second installment was an adaptation of this episode. * The voices of damage control personnel responding to the emergency situation was reused many times in subsequent episodes. These voices were provided by Gene Roddenberry, Robert Justman and Majel Barrett. Roddenberry can be heard saying, "Communicator, we need more lines to the impulse deck!" in subsequent episodes. * In this episode, the helm console from the bridge was moved to the transporter set to double as the transporter console. * During the shooting of this episode, which was not done at Paramount, a nest of wasps, agitated by the lights, stung many members of the cast and crew. Shooting had to be delayed several days to allow swelling from a sting on Shatner's eyelid to go down. * The ship fly-bys were all done with the 11-foot model used in all subsequent episodes. At the time, this model still had no sparkling effects on the front of the nacelles. It also had a larger sensor dish, grilles on the backs of the nacelles and not as many lighting effects. This footage was re-used in later episodes, often mixed in with shots of the improved model that is on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum giftshop. In the standard side-to-side fly-by, two lights on the angled pylon (which connect the two hulls) go out, followed one second later by two near the shuttlebay. This can also be seen in the standard shot of the ship sailing into the distance. At first appearing to be a manlfunction, the fact that two different lights in two different sections go out in the same shot indicates that it was probably an intentional effect. (What are the odds of two sets of lights going out at almost the same time while the camera was running!). It should also be noted that bluescreen model shots where filmed with one camera at a time back in 1965 when this episode was made. *Leonard Nimoy (Spock) is the only actor to appear in both this episode and the first pilot, "The Cage". Unlike "The Cage", his pointed ears are a bit smaller, and his eyebrows are severely slanted (yet not as bushy as in "The Cage") and appear to have been painted on. Most importantly, his hairstyle is reworked to show the bangs typical of his race – and that of eventual nemeses, the Romulans. *This is the only episode where Spock wears a gold shirt instead of blue. *This episode sets the original series record for crew members killed: 12 (Mitchell, Dehner, Kelso, and the 9 who Spock says died when crossing the galactic barrier). *Gene Roddenberry wanted a character named "Rice" in each TV show he created (see Lt. William Rice in "The Lieutenant"), so the Captain's name was going to be "James Rice Kirk". This explains the "James R. Kirk" tombstone Mitchell creates for Kirk. As the series developed after the second pilot it was somehow forgotten and he became James T. Kirk. *This is the only episode of the series in which James Doohan (Scotty) appears but DeForest Kelley (McCoy) does not. Kelley, in fact, made his debut in the next episode to be produced, "The Corbomite Maneuver". *When "quoting" Tarbolde's poem "Nightingale Woman," actor Gary Lockwood mispronounces Canopus Planet as "Canopius." *Kirk says he's been worried about Mitchell "ever since that night on Deneb IV." Coincidentally (or not), TNG's pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" takes place on Deneb IV, home of the Bandi. *There seems to be a lot of "job overlapping" going on during this second pilot. For example, as per promotional materials, Lt. Alden is the Communications Officer. He sits at the same console Uhura will later occupy and, like she, can pinch-hit as navigator when necessary. However, he has nothing at all to do with communications in this episode. When Kirk asks to address the ship, it's Mitchell who engages the intercom from the navigator's board, just as Jose Tyler did in "The Cage." Alden's board, however, enables him to turn on the "sensor beam" and rig the deflectors at full intensity. He's also a capable engineering technician who helps Kelso fix the helm console and move replacement components from Delta Vega to the Enterprise. *Lt. Sulu is a "physicist" and speaks as the department head of "Astro Sciences," even though Lt. Cmdr. Spock is the stated "Science Officer." In the "lost intro" of the second pilot, Sulu and Dr. Piper can be seen walking together during the alert, which implies that they work closely. *Lt. Kelso is the most-interesting job-overlapper. Although he mans the helm in the first couple of acts, he later appears to be doing the job of a Chief Engineer. Lt. Cmdr. Scott speaks as the "Engineering Division" department head, but Kelso leads the repair party on Delta Vega. Scotty remains on the Enterprise and installs the replacement components with Alden, and he even calls Kelso "a talented thief" when it comes to scavenging for spare parts. Kelso is also charged with rigging up the detonation switch on Delta Vega. Finally, and most interestingly, Kelso is the one who checks the "starboard impulse packs" and later reports to Kirk that they're burned out. What was Scotty doing at that time? He was on the Bridge watching the controls "going crazy ... levers moving by themselves, buttons being pushed, instrument readings changing." It's a wonder they didn't kill him off and keep Kelso. *Finally, will the real First Officer please stand up? Spock and Mitchell share the same rank. However, Kirk has known Mitchell for 15 years and even asked for him aboard his first command. Why couldn't Mitchell the navigator also be First Officer? In "The Cage," Number One the helmswoman was XO. Still, Spock technically has "military seniority" aboard the Enterprise as the only holdover from Capt. Pike's staff. You decide. Apocrypha *A possible explanation for the "James R. Kirk" reference is given in Peter David's novel Q-Squared which suggests that the events of this episode take place in a parallel universe where Kirk's middle initial is indeed R (and not T as we now know it to be). Production timeline *First draft script: *Second draft: *Final draft script: 28 June *Revised final draft script: 8 and 9 July, with further revised pages dated 14 and 15 July *Original airdate: *Rerun date: *Scheduled remastered airdate: Links and References *VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300213064. *Two episode DVD (with "The Corbomite Maneuver") available there under ISBN 63005513406. Starring *William Shatner as Kirk *Leonard Nimoy as Spock Guest Stars *Gary Lockwood as Gary Mitchell *Sally Kellerman as Elizabeth Dehner Featuring *George Takei as Sulu *James Doohan as Scott *Lloyd Haynes as Alden *Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith And *Paul Carr as Lt. Lee Kelso *Paul Fix as Doctor Piper Uncredited *Eddie Paskey as Leslie Production crew *Hal Needham as Gary Lockwood's stunt double *Dick Crockett as William Shatner's stunt double References 2065; Aldebaron colony; Canopus; Canopus Planet; Delta Vega; Dimorus; ESP; esper; extrasensory perception; fission chamber; galaxy; galactic barrier; Kaferian apple; lithium; lithium cracking station; magnetic storm; neutron radiation; Nightingale Woman; ore ship; phaser; phaser rifle; Pointed Peaks; psionic energy; Benedict de Spinoza; stardate; Starfleet Academy; Tarbolde, Phineas; telekinesis; three-dimensional chess; yeoman. Other references aperception quotient; Dehner, Gerard; Delman; Delman Street; Deneb IV; The Ethics; Duke-Heidelburg quotient; Eldman; Eldman Street; Mitchell, Gary, Sr.; Newstate; Tri-Planetary Academy. External Links * Category:TOS episodes de:Spitze des Eisbergs es:Where No Man Has Gone Before fr:Where No Man Has Gone Before nl:Where No Man Has Gone Before sv:Where No Man Has Gone Before